I was in first grade when I received communion for the first time. Before I could participate in the meal, though, I was required to attend classes and receive instruction from my pastor about the meaning of holy communion.

It occurs to me that you, beloved friends of New Journey Lutheran Church, likely received first communion instruction when you were a child, too. Perhaps you first received communion on the day you were confirmed around the age of 12 or 13. Church practices around holy communion have changed greatly in the span of 60 years. Not to mention how practices vary from denomination to denomination. As we’ve been exploring holy communion these last weeks in worship, I’ve wondered: to what extent does first communion instruction matter?

On Sunday, September 8 we begin our our journey through the Narrative Lectionary (NL) in worship.

An alternative to the Revised Common Lectionary, the NL, is a four-year cycle of Bible readings. On the Sundays from September through May each year the readings follow the sweep of the biblical story, from Creation through the early Christian church.

What stories will we read together?

Join us Sunday, September 1 for a hymn sing-in worship.

The Worship & Music team asks that you select the top three hymns you’d like to sing and send them to Pastor Beth. Email her your three favorites at pastorbeth@njlc-fh.org or write them down and hand them to her on or before August 25 so they can be included in our service.

On Sunday, August 25, our community will welcome Autumn Byars in worship to share about her experiences as the first Hunger Fellow to be placed in the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Arizona (LAMA) office.

We are overjoyed to welcome Autumn Byars to NJLC to speak about her experience as a Hunger Fellow, share the highlights of her work from this last year, and share her impressions and hopes for God’s church as a young adult serving in church leadership.

Join Social Ministry team leader, Kris Bartanen and Pastor Beth on Monday, August 26 at 9:00 am by Zoom to debrief what we learned from Autumn and how our social ministries and advocacy work are impacted by her sharing.

Click Read More for the Zoom Link.

The Northeast Valley Consortium’s 2024 Heat Respite lunch topped 2,000 lunches on Monday, August 12 as the location for delivery moved from Grace Lutheran Church and First United Church of Christ in central Phoenix to Wesley United Methodist Church and nearby heat respite hubs in south Phoenix. Grace's pastor, Rev. David Sivecz, provided the following note of thanks to all who have participated in the project to-date.

Please join us on September 8 as New Journey joins in the ELCA-wide Sunday of service. As part of the worship service, we will host our 4th and final heat respite lunch pack for 2024, allowing those who cannot join on weekdays to pack, which will bring the summer’s total to more than 2600 lunches for personal experiencing homelessness in the Phoenix area. We will also host an additional social ministry project (a “third” assembly line) so our whole congregation be able to be involved.